Ummmm...

Fantasy BB

Buckled down and joined the local fantasy baseball league. Run by the guy who runs the FF league I participate in. It's a keeper league but I got lucky with the availability of a certain TRIPLE CROWN WINNER!!

Here's my highlights:

Miguel Cabrera

Bryce Harper

Yoenis Cespides

Ian Desmond

Manny Machado

Melky Cabrera

Matt Cain

Matt Harvey

Josh Johnson

Jeremy Hellickson

Wade Miley

I have some fill-in-the-blanks guys like Angel Pagan, Gordon Beckham, Ike Davis...some prospects like Mike Olt, Jurrickson Profar, Travis d'Arnaud...and I have to pick up a couple guys on waivers to complete a game day roster.

At least early the strategy is young, strong, fast. Yowza.

A Few Days

I've kind of been "off" since the low-scoring extravaganza last Saturday. No baseball to coach until this weekend (maybe) - the weather round these parts has been rough.

OSSS is playing HS Baseball. They moved him to catcher. He has caught in the past. He will start on JV as a frosh...and depending how things shake he may have a shot of at least some V action. All depends on him I think. He's swinging the bat well, working on switch hitting and learning the advanced part of a tough position. He's up to the task.

YSSS is now a 12U demon...and he made the MS team. He's in 6th grade and the team had zero of my old players (8th graders) come out. The team will be tough as I think there are about 1/2 the roster made up of 6th grade. Big field too. So I will watch him to make sure he doesn't injure himself with the longer throws, etc. I think this is good for him.

Champs

Won the Bergen Travel Basketball league (6th Grade National Guard Division) on Saturday night with a 18-15 onslaught. That score is not a typo.

Four (4) quarters of back and forth bad shooting and sloppy passing. A battle of attrition. We won.

So my boys are CHAMPEENS for a second year in a row. 2X2X!

Just One

Lost in semis last night, so it's only one championship game this Saturday.

Missed shots = loss!

Playoff Week

Basketball is winding down, only a few days left.

League #1 - We are in semi-finals...won first round game, playing a pretty tough opponent tonight. Win and we play for league championship on Saturday afternoon (vs. the team we beat last season).

League #2 - only a single elimination round was played. We won that one. Now we play the championship on Saturday evening.

So should we win tonight in semis we play two championship games on Saturday. I'll need all day Sunday to recover. St. Paddy's Day. Can't recover drinking Guiness. I'll skip the corned beef and cabbage (not Irish).

The Taylor Ham Post

This was inspired by something I heard this AM at my local corner store.

After circumnavigating The Sipper at the self service counter and getting my bad self a steaming cup 'o' joe, I ventured to the counter to complete my purchase, along with my daily newspapers (yesssss, I still read newspapers). Say hi to Bob (not his real name). $4.00 to me.

A lady, after checking her losing lottery tickets, places an order:
"Can I have a taylor ham, egg and cheese on...whole wheat bread!

Whole wheat bread? Are you kidding me? Where are you from, Ohio?

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For all of you that don't live in The J (North or South), you may not know what TAYLOR HAM is. Your loss. Let me try to explain...

Taylor ham is a delicacy, not unlike other delicacies around the world. It can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, late-night snack, 3AM diner run after the bars close, etc.

Taylor Ham is pork roll, but all pork roll is not taylor ham

It is available at every stop along the GSP and NJ TPKE

It's made in NJ. So it has a very small carbon footprint

People who grew up in the J often request it to be shipped to them. My bro-in-law in Indiana gets one for Christmas every year

It is best eaten on either a hard roll or bagel. We have the best of those here as well

People who visit are often encouraged by the natives to partake. Listen to them!

It keeps the multitude from turning vegan. It's that good!

SoulSlam has been dieting for the last 10 weeks or so (down 17!) - so I haven't enjoyed a nice taylor hame and cheese (hold the egg!) in awhile.
I'm getting hungry.

HS Baseball

OSSS is a freshman in HS. Baseball in North J began in earnest on Friday 3/1. He's doing well.

The Airline Rant

Had to travel to the Windy City Thursday, stay a single night, then come home on Friday. Booked a 6;15 flight from ORD to EWR. Since the weather is kind of sketchy this time of year, I assumed I would be delayed.

But airlines (in this case, United) suck. They ask for more money to get on an earlier flight, yet don't come across with the cabbage when the flight you paid hundreds of dollars for is delayed. They stopped the following:

Free baggage check-in

Food on a flight

The ability to give them cold, hard cash for a beer, wine or cocktail

What also chaps me...two things. First, the special lavatory for the 1st class section. I have news...we don't want them back by us either. Second, on the flight home they had DirectTV at all the seats. Sweet. But you have to pay to watch it. Problem is if you didn't pay, then all these freakin' seat monitors show commercials. It's communist I say.